A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE COINAGE OF ...

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE COINAGE OF CEYLON By Graeme J. Stephens

(1) Introduction Ceylon is a large island located close to the south east coast of India with an area of about 65000 square kilometres and a population of about 20 million. For size comparison, it is almost exactly the same area as the island of Tasmania. Besides Ceylon, the other names by which this island has been known over the centuries are Lanka (Sanskrit), Lakdiva (Sinhala), Taprobane (Greek and Roman), Ceilao (Portuguese), Zeilan (Dutch), Ceylon (English) and finally Sri Lanka (its name after independence). Ceylon is a beautiful and very fertile island which has always had about it an aura of the exotic. The Chinese called it the "Island of Jewels", the Greeks and the Romans the "Land of the Ruby", and the Hindus, the "Pearl upon the Brow of India". A map of Ceylon is included as figure 1 for reference.

(2) Historical Overview Ceylon has had a long and fascinating history. From around 483 BCE when Vijaya landed with his 700 followers from India and became the Chief Ruler of the Island a well documented chronology of over 180 Kings and Queens exists in the literature up to the last King of Kandy in 1815. (See Appendix 1). In 1505 the Portuguese subjugated the coastal area of the island and maintained colonial control for 153 years. In 1658 the Dutch East India Company (VOC) with the capture of Jaffna finally ousted the Portuguese and maintained their own colonial control for 138 years. In 1796 the British annexed the Dutch Colony and made Ceylon a British Crown Colony in 1802. In 1948, after 152 years of British colonial rule, Ceylon became an independent self-governing dominion of the British Commonwealth. In 1972 Ceylon became the Republic of Sri Lanka. Each of the above eras in Ceylon's history is represented by a rich legacy of coinage and examples of all of these periods up to independence are shown below. The text covers the period from 250 BCE to 1825 CE when the currency reverted to British Sterling. As the island has been known as Sri Lanka only in modern times I will refer to it throughout the text as its Sanskrit name, Lanka.

(3) Earliest Coinage ? Kashapanas (250 BCE-600 CE) The earliest coins in Lanka are known as kashapanas or puranas. Large numbers of these have been found in Lanka. These are flat pieces of silver cut from sheets or thin bars and trimmed to the correct weight and then stamped with various punch marks. They can be round, rectangular, square or multi-sided. They received strikes from several (5 is the common number on the obverse; 1 is usual on the reverse) punches that vied with each other for position on the surface. Most are only partially on the flan and often overlap at least one other of the punches. Each punch mark had its own particular meaning and over 300 have been identified by numismatic scholars. The punch marks include many objects including trees, animals, symbols of Buddhist worship, solar and planetary signs. The precise meaning of the punch marks is not certain but it has been suggested that they could represent a series of officials in diminishing order of authority, and that the always present symbol, the sun, would represent the Ruler himself, and the various arms of the six armed emblem representing the highest officials next under him. They are written of as being in use in the reign of King Dutugamunu in the second century BCE and scholars have documented their use in Lanka at least until the 7th century CE. One numismatic theory is that most of the puranas circulating in Lanka originated in India and were introduced to Lanka during very early trading activities between the two countries, with the only locally produced puranas being small numbers of cast copies. The enlarged photo shows a group of these small coins.

Silver Karshapanas or Puranas

(4) Lakshmi Plaques (1st Century BCE to 3rd Century CE) These are rectangular pieces of Copper with a stylised figure of the goddess Lakshmi on the obverse and a railed swastika revolving to the right (or sometimes to the left) on the reverse. The plaques can be either cast or struck and their tenure has been uncertain. It is currently thought that they were current in the general period from 100 BCE to 300 CE and large numbers have been found in a number of hoards. Examples of both the cast type and the struck type are shown below.

Cast Lakshmi Plaque

Struck Lakshmi Plaque

(5) Elephant and Swastika (1st Century BCE to 3rd Century CE)

These are rare and ancient Buddhist themed copper coins. Their tenure is thought to be about the same as the cast Lakshmi Plaques, from about 100 BCE to about 300 CE. Buddhism was introduced to Lanka from India in 247 BCE. On the obverse there is a stylised elephant, walking left, above which is a symbol of three hills thought to represent mountains ("caitya") with a railed swastika and a tree in an enclosure as well as the "dhajaya" and other Buddhist symbols. The reverse contains similar symbols but without the elephant and including the curious "nandipada". Some of these symbols have been interpreted to represent phases in the life of Buddha with the elephant representing his birth, the railed tree his enlightenment, the railed swastika his ministry, and the Caitya his death. The dhajaya is seen as his standard. There are two types known. The type found at Anuradhapura is thin and struck with fine detail while the second type found at Tissmaharama in South West Lanka is thick and rough cast. An example of the former type is shown below.

Elephant and Swastika Coin

(6) Maneless Lion (2nd to 3rd Century CE) These copper coins have been attributed to the 2nd and 3rd Centuries by Lingen and were certainly still in use during the reign of King Mahasena (277-304 CE). The specimen shown in the photo is well worn (as most are) but shows the maneless lion on the obverse and the four dots in a circle on the reverse.

Cakram Maneless Lion

(7) Roman and Indo-Roman Coins (4th Century to mid 7th Century CE) Although only a very small number of Roman silver and gold coins dating from the first century BCE to the seventh century CE have been found in Lanka, large numbers of small bronze Roman coins of the fourth and fifth centuries CE have been discovered scattered throughout the island in over 30 hoards. The vast majority of the coins are of the Eastern Roman Empire, from the period 317-450 CE. These coins are present in Lanka because of indirect trading activities with the Romans over at least five centuries which reached a peak in the fifth century and then ceased altogether with the fall of Alexandria in 638 CE. This trading was indirect and carried out through Indian, Arab and Greek merchants acting as middlemen and transporting gems, pearls, spices, and other commodities from Lanka to the Mediterranean by the ancient maritime route via the Red Sea and Alexandria. In addition, crude copies of Roman coins minted in Lanka and originally called Indo-Roman coins by Codrington (1924), have also been found in considerable numbers in hoards, mainly in a limited coastal region in the south of the island known in ancient times as Ruhunu (modern name Rohana). These locally minted imitations of the roman bronze coinage are now known as Naimana coins. Latest research has shown that from about 200 BCE to the end of trade with the romans in 638 CE, although local trading was sometimes by barter, the principal small currency coinage used in the island was the silver punch marked coins from India known as puranas covered in Chapter 3. However, the small roman coins and the Naimana imitations were also used as a local currency for small village transactions in the 5th century, mainly in the Rohana area to the south, but hoards of both types have also been found in the north of the island. The Naimana coins also appear to have been favoured for temple offerings and donations. A selection of Roman and Naimana coins are shown below.

Roman and Naimana Coins of Fourth and Fifth Century

(8) Pallava Coins (668-740 CE) The Pallavas were Kings of Southern India who controlled Lanka for nearly two centuries through a series of puppet Sinhala kings starting with Manavanna in the late seventh century and finishing with Aggabodhi IX in the mid ninth century. Pallava copper coins cover the period 668 to 740 CE and cover a variety of types. The pallava coin shown is a thick copper coin with a large vase sitting on a drum and holding a branched plant with a lamp symbol on either side. On the reverse is a large flowering tree held in a small vase flanked on one side by a boar and the other side by an elephant.

Pallava Vase Coin

(9) Early Pandyan Coins (824-943 CE) The Pandyans were a dynasty of Indian Rulers who by the mid ninth century had risen to a position of ascendancy over the Pallavas in the southernmost region of India and controlled the fishing grounds in the Gulf of Mannar as well as the rich pearling grounds between India and Lanka in Palk Bay. After unsuccessfully invading Lanka in the mid-ninth century the Pandyans continued to exert considerable influence in the island and continued to trade. The Pandyan coins found in Lanka are copper and date to the period 824-943 CE. The two examples shown in the photos are as follows:

(a) Kongu Cera Obverse ? Elephant facing right, trunk pendant, in front a symbol (?), over back, a conch, all in beaded circle.

Reverse ? Humped bull facing left, in front, lamp, over back a double crescent, all in beaded circle. (b) Bull Series

Obverse ?Bull sitting right, underneath two lines, over back, a crescent, on either side a lamp, all in beaded circle. Reverse- Two fish facing opposite directions, underneath two lines, over a crescent, a thin lamp on each side, all in a beaded circle.

Pandyan Kongu Cera Coin

Pandyan Bull Series Coin

(10) Medieval Gold Coins of the late House of Lambakanna II Period (8th Century-1017 CE) This anonymous gold coinage appears to have been initiated in the 8th Century long before RajaRaja Chola invaded Lanka in 990 CE and struck through the period the Cholas dominated the island. The standard gold coin produced was the kalanda (or kahavanu) of about 4.4 ? 4.5 gms in weight. There were also fractional coins of gold with the half being called an ada, the quarter being called a pala and the eighth being called an aka. The design of these first kahavanu coins is derived from Sinhala symbolism and formed the basic design motive of coins in Lanka for the next 900 years. It is now known widely as the "massa" design. On the obverse is a standing male figure, crowned and clothed in a dhoti. The figure is thought to be Kuvera, the Lord of Wealth. He is standing on a lotus plant stalk represented by a curved line of dots usually with buds at either end. In the right field of the coin is a group of three or four small circles, each with a dot in the centre. The right arm of the figure is extended with the hand and elbow over two symbols, the inner srivatsa symbol, and the outer lamp symbol. The left hand holds aloft one of a number of symbols. On the reverse side we have the figure Bahirava, a dwarf spirit, also holding a symbol in the left hand (which can be the same or different symbol to the obverse) but squatting on a rectangular frame throne known as an asana, divided lengthwise by a line and subdivided by vertical cross lines. On the left side of the figure (the right side of the coin) appears the legend in Nagari characters in three lines, commonly read as Sri Lanka Vibhu, the "Fortunate Lord of Lanka". The following symbols held in the left hand can be recognised on these coins: Lotus, jasmine flower, adahanda or half moon (a crescent consisting of two small semi-circles, one within the other), chank (shaped like a lying down question mark), trident, full pot, ball, annulet, sun and moon emblem, flower, and srivatsa.

None of this series of coins identified the ruler on the coin. It will not be until after the Chola Occupation in another century that the Sinhala kings start to put their names on the bronze "massa" type coins. Codrington has however devised a scheme whereby various types of these anonymous gold kahavanus can be grouped as to origin, and he has recognised three types. Shown below are :

a. A Type II Kahavanu together with matching pala and aka. They are all of the adahanda & lotus type. b. A Type III Kahavanu of the jasmine and chank combination.

There appeared to be little or no copper coinage minted in Lanka during this period except for the Chola Coinage from 990 CE (described below) and smaller transactions would probably have been undertaken using the barter system. The photos show all four coins described above (not to scale).

Type II Gold Kahavanu ? adahanda and Lotus with Matching Pala and Matching Aka

Type IIIB Gold Kahavanu- Jasmine and Chank (11) Chola Occupation coinage (990-1070 CE) The Chola's were one of the longest reigning dynasties in medieval India and ruled the southeastern portion of India from the late ninth to the thirteenth centuries. The period of Chola occupation of Lanka began in 990 when RajaRaja Chola sent a large Chola army which conquered northern Lanka and added it to the Chola Empire. The rest of Lanka was annexed by his son Rajendra Chola in 1017, however the dispossessed Sinhala Monarchs continued to exercise some authority from the Ruhana region in the south of the island when they were not subjected to Chola attacks. In 1070 the Sinhala King Vijayabahu finally defeated the Chola army and resumed control of Lanka after returning to Polonnarura. The Cholas never returned to Lanka after that defeat. The Cholas struck a gold, silver and copper coinage in Lanka. The gold and copper coinage of Rajaraja simply copied the "massa" style local gold coins which were then in use among the local Sinhala people. An example of the gold coinage (somewhat debased) is shown below, and the other example is a copper "massa" type coin of a curious convex shape and of rough execution.

Debased Gold Kahavanu of RajaRaja Chola (985-1014) Copper Massa of Chola Type

(12) Five Kingdoms Period (1056-1505) This long period covered five separate Kingdoms of Sinhala Kings occupying six separate capitals at Polonnaruwa, Dambadeniya, Kurunegala, Gampola, Raigama and Kotte (See Appendix 1). Aside from some minor gold coinage of the first King Vijaya Bahu I (1056-1111) almost all of the coinage output was in the form of copper "one massa" coins, with Parakrama Bahu I (1153-1186) and Dharmasoka (1208-1209) also producing small 1/8 massa coins. On the obverse of all these coins is a standing human figure quite similar to the obverse of the Kahavanu coinage and on the reverse is a similar seated figure with a legend giving the ruler's name. The following monarchs issued massa coins:

(a) Vijaya Bahu I (1056-1111) (b) Parakrama Bahu I (1153-1186) (c) Nissanka Malla (1187-1196) (d) Codaganga (1196-1197) (e) Queen Lilivati (1197-1200) (f) Sahasa Malla (1200-1202) (g) Dharmasoka (1208-1209) (h) Parakrama Bahu II (1234-1268) (i) Vijayabahu IV (1268-1270) (j) BuvanakaBahu (1271-1283) (k) Parakrama Bahu VI (1412-1467) The photos below show the reverse of massa coins minted by four of these rulers. The reverse is shown because only this side of the coin contained the Ruler's name in Devanagari script.

Parakrama Bahu I (1153-1186) Queen Lilivati (1197-1200) Sahassa Malla (1200-1202) Dharmasoka (1208-1209)

(13) The Sethu Coinage from Jaffna (1215-1619) The Sethu coins are a class of copper coin originating from the autonomous Hindu Kingdom of Jaffna in the Tamil speaking northern part of the island with Jaffna as its capital. After Kalinga Magha invaded Lanka from India in 1215 with Pandyan support he established the Jaffna Kingdom and ruled Lanka until his death in 1236. After that time the Jaffna Kingdom continued to exist as a tribute paying feudality of the Pandyan Empire in India. Upon the defeat in India of the Pandyans in 1323 the Jaffna Kingdom became independent and for a brief period in the early to mid 15th century again became the ascendant power in Lanka. Around 1450 it was overpowered and subjugated to the control of the Kotte Kingdom in the south and never again ruled Lanka. However it did retain its independence and continued as a Kingdom until 1619 when it fell under Portuguese control. There are two types of Sethu coins and the one shown is a copper Type II Arya Chakravati of 1462-1597. The obverse has the usual "massa" style but the reverse shows a reclining bull with large Tamil letters beneath reading Sethu.

Type II Arva Chakravati Of Jaffna Kingdom 1462-1597

(14) The Gold Fanam and Sinhala Silver Panama The gold fanam is a very small gold coin used in Lanka over a long period. Its origins are not at all clear but it is considered that these were trade coins from the Malabar Coast of India and in use from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries. They are only 8 mm in diameter and have distinctive patterns on each side but no script or date. The Sinhala silver panama on the other hand is a copy of the gold fanam and was minted by the Sinhala Kings in the seventeenth century during the Portuguese occupation and used well into the Dutch period (see below) The photos show a group of each of these tiny coins.

Silver Panamas

Gold Fanams

(15) The Portuguese Annexation (1505-1658) In 1505 Francisco de Almeida, newly appointed first Portuguese Viceroy of the East, despatched his son to explore commercial prospects southwards from the Portuguese seat at Cochin in China. He returned in 1506 with a treaty from the King of Lanka, Parakramabahu VIII, who agreed to pay tribute in cinnamon and elephants. During 1509/10 the new Governor in Cochin, Alfonso de Albuquerque, established Portuguese maritime supremacy in the Indian Ocean and sailed on eastwards, establishing Malacca in present day Malaysia in 1511. In 1512 Lopo Soares de Albergaria (who became Viceroy in 1515) established the first Portuguese Trading Settlement in Lanka in Colombo. During ensuing years further trading settlements were opened around the coast of Lanka and in 1597 the Portuguese King Philip I (1580-1598) was proclaimed sovereign of Ceilao (Lanka), followed by Philip II (1598-1621), Philip III (1621-1640), and John IV(1640-1656). In practice, however, the Portuguese only ruled the coastal lands and the Sinhala Kings of Kandy remained paramount in the interior of the island while the Tamil Jaffna Kingdom in the north retained its independence until 1619. Portuguese coinage struck in, or for, Ceilao all appears to post date the declaration of Philip's suzerainty in 1597. Local striking was ordered to cease in 1634, but had been resumed by 1640 when undated "gridiron" tangas were being struck. Local minting continued until at least 1645, but from about 1642 most silver coin destined for use in Ceilao was struck at Goa (India). Circulation of "St John" type silver coins was forbidden at Goa in 1650 and was replaced by the "Cross of Christ" type silver coin however the Goa mint continued strikings of St John issues for use in Ceilao until 1653. In 1638 the King of Kandy, Rajasinghe II called on the Dutch for help against the Portuguese and in 1658 the last Portuguese fortress on the island fell into Dutch hands.

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